Help control pet population, spay or neuter your pets

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By Gisele GambleSpecial to The Examiner

Examiner

By Gisele GambleSpecial to The Examiner

Posted Jan. 22, 2014 at 10:36 PM

By Gisele GambleSpecial to The Examiner
Posted Jan. 22, 2014 at 10:36 PM

Spring is coming, after the long winter of course, but it will be here soon and that means kitten and puppy season and lots of work for local shelters and rescue groups. It amazes me how long spay and neuter campaigns have been going on, yet people just don't listen!

Allowing animals to have litters of babies just to have them put down in crowded shelters is similar to having in vitro fertilization where they create the embryos then cull them out. But it's worse! These babies are alive and walking around and just getting a start in life. Killing healthy animals because they have no homes is a horrible black mark on our society.

So what is the answer? Simple, have your pets spayed or neutered. Yes, it is simple. Spay Neuter Kansas City did 8,000 low cost and subsidized spay neuter surgeries in 2013. Lives saved? Likely more than 100,000 unwanted puppies and kittens.

There are generational myths that need to be put to rest. Females do not need to have at least one litter of babies. Males do not get fat and lazy after being neutered. Any animal that is fat is that way because of overeating and a sedentary lifestyle, just like we humans!

Spaying a female before the first estrous cycle (going into heat) significantly reduces her chances of developing breast cancer. It also eliminates the possibility of uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and uterine infections. It also keeps her in a sanitary environment since the issue of dealing with the mess and crazy behavior of the estrous cycle is no longer a factor.

Neutering a male lowers the possibility of them developing perianal tumors and hernias. These commonly occur in older, unaltered dogs. Neutering also eliminates the possibility of testicular cancer and it decreases aggressive behavior. Males that are not neutered tend to get out of their habitat and roam. This causes all kinds of problems besides creating another litter of babies. They can get into fights with other males or be run over by a vehicle to name a few.

Let this be the year that you get your animal altered. Listed below are the names and numbers of many organizations that will be glad to help.

n Spay Neuter Kansas City – 816-353-0940

n Spay Missouri – 1-888-950-7729

n Low-Cost Spay/Neuter – 816-525-5401

n The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City – 913-596-1000

n Heartland SPCA – 913-831-7722

n STOPP Clinic – 816-313-7729

For financial assistance with a spay or neuter operation, please contact the Heart of America Humane Society 800-384-3143 or the Pet Connection 816-671-7387.

You can be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. You can help to save the lives of millions of animals who are euthanized because they have nowhere to go. If your animals are altered you are awesome! Now tell you friends, relatives, and neighbors how healthy your pets are and how important it is to get their pets spayed or neutered.

Page 2 of 2 - The no-kill shelters have an admirable goal, however if we are to achieve balance in this game of breeding vs spay and neuter we will need our municipalities to adopt ordinances of “mandatory spay and neuter.” It has been done in other cities around the United States. We could do it too if our city fathers would step up to the plate.

In the meantime shelters and rescue groups do their best to help and save as many animals as they can. Much like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike, they are working against impossible odds. If we spread the word of how important spaying and neutering is hopefully we can convince the people who are still on the fence that this is the right thing to do and bring some relief to those who are helping the unwanted, homeless animals.